In Māori mythology

Maori mythology

Māori mythology and Māori traditions are the two major categories into which the legends of the Māori of New Zealand may usefully be divided...

, Matuku-tangotango (Matuku) is an ogre who kills Wahieroa

Wahieroa

In Māori mythology, Wahieroa is a son of Tāwhaki, and father of Rātā.Tāwhaki was attacked and left for dead by two of his brothers-in-law, jealous that their wives preferred the handsome Tāwhaki to them. He was nursed back to health by his wife Hinepiripiri. She helped him back to their house, and...

 the son of Tāwhaki

Tāwhaki

In Māori mythology, Tāwhaki is a semi-supernatural being associated with lightning and thunder.-Genealogy:The genealogy of Tāwhaki varies somewhat in different accounts. In general, Tāwhaki is a grandson of Whaitiri, a cannibalistic goddess who marries the mortal Kaitangata , thinking that he...

. In some versions, Matuku lives in a cave called Putawarenuku. Rātā

Rata (Maori mythology)

In Māori mythology, accounts vary somewhat as to the ancestry of Rātā. Usually he is a grandson of Tāwhaki and son of Wahieroa. Wahieroa is treacherously killed by Matuku-tangotango, an ogre...

, the son of Wahieroa, sets off to avenge his murdered father, and arrives at last at Matuku's village. He hears from Matuku's servant that at the new moon his master can be killed at the pool where he washes his face and hair. When the new moon has come, Rātā waits until the ogre comes out of his cave and is leaning over with his head in the pool. He grabs him by the hair and kills him. Rātā then sets off to rescue his father's bones from the Ponaturi

Ponaturi

In Māori mythology, the Ponaturi are a group of hostile creatures who live in a land beneath the sea by day, returning to shore each evening to sleep. They dread daylight, which is fatal to them. They appear in a number of stories, including:...

. A South Island version names the islands where Matuku lives as Puorunuku and Puororangi and also states that Rātā nooses Matuku as he comes out of his lair to perform certain rituals (Tregear 1891:232, 399-400).

• The expedition into the realm of Matuku-tangotango conducted by Wahie-roa was for the sake of plumes of kake-rangi (kohi-rangi) birds, and was led by Manu-korihi (with Whakarau as 2nd-in-command); it was obstructed by Ngaupara, the lieutenant of Matuku-tangotango.
• "Wahieroa was murdered in his sleep by his own slave".
• Having gained the sought-for plumes, the expedition returned safely through the country of the Ngati-Toko-rakau, who were governed by Ko-waiwai.
• After Rata had arrived in Haohao-nui (the palace of Matuku-tangotango), located in the fortress Awa-rua, Rata's disguised voice was mistaken by Matuku-tangotango for that of Matuku-tangotango's own brother Tahuaroa.
• The neck of Mataku-tangotango was caught in 3 nooses and was strangled.

Names and epithets

• Matuku (bittern)
• Matuku-tangotango ('tangotango' perhaps means 'dark as night', or 'ominous')
• Matuku-takotako (South Island dialect).